Jane Candlish
A couple was forced to flee in their dressing gowns yesterday morning when a fire started in their Nairn home.
Firefighters were called to Manse Road at around 9.40am after reports of smoke coming from a two-storey semi-detached property.
Two crews from the town were joined by one from Inverness and the hydraulic platform because of fears the fire would spread.
Police put a large cordon up on Manse Road to stop traffic passing the scene.
Immediate neighbours were evacuated from their homes as a precaution.
However they stood watching from nearby gardens as firefighters extinguished the blaze.
The hydraulic platform was not needed.
No one answered at the house yesterday. Windows at the property were left open to air the building.
A neighbour said yesterday that the couple had got out of the house safely.
A fire service spokesman said that a small area of loft space was damage by fire, with the rest suffering smoke damage.
Crews used six sets of breathing apparatus, two hose reel jets and a main jet to extinguish the fire.
Meanwhile on Saturday night, crews from Dingwall and Beauly were called to a fire at an outbuilding close to the town’s library.
The single storey wooden building was well alight when firefighters arrived on scene.
A hydraulic platform and water carrier were also called in from Inverness and crews used jets of water to bring the fire under control.
The blaze was under control by midnight and a crew from Inverness remained on scene to damp down and check for hotspots.
A fire services spokeswoman said that the building was completely destroyed.